The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-05-21

the rate OF wages Increases, the labor cost
OF production cheapens, and that we, pay,
Ing the highest wages, have the cheapest
labor of all the nations. An Illustration of
this law Is presented In the fact that we
protect" ourselves against the competi-
ton of England. Protectionists care not
fig for the competition of other nations.
But England, being the only free trade ma.
tion In Europe, Is the highest wage paying
nation of Europe. That is, We protect our
selves not against the poorest paid. the
pauper labor Of Europe, but against the
highest wage receiving labor of Europe.
1t being most productive, 1t is highest paid,
has the greatest competing power, Is the
cheapest labor Of Europe. And the other
nations, though paying not one. half as high
wages as England, protect themselves
against the high wage paid, and hence
cheap labor of England.
Again, the Fair Traders, or protec.
tionists of Great Britain, demand protection
against American competition, not against
the "pauper labor of Europe. They de.
mand protection against a higher paid, q
more productive, and therefore cheaper,
labor than theirs, as theirs is cheaper than
the lower paid labor OF the continent. Mr..
Trimble boasts of our ability to sell certain
manufactures In England. What are they
Principally machinery, edged tools, etc.
Not pig iron, not bar, or nails, nor yet rails,
nor any Of the coarser materials, but the
highest grades of machinery, the highest
tempered, the best saws and tools. That is,
we compete with "pauper labor not only
in those things "ln which the element of
labor is the chief cost" but in those things
in which Is represented the greatest posi-
BILE amount of American labor with the
least amount of raw material demonstrat-
ing the fact that our competing power is
in our labor, and not in our raw material.
said our labor was highest paid yet In
some of the industries which we tax our
selves most to protect, the English pay even
higher than We Thus in cotton manufac-
turing, according to our Consular reports,
as collated and reported by Secretary Ere.
linghuysen, the average wages of men,
women and children in the cotton mills OF
England are $251 per annum. The census
of 1880 gives the average paid in our
American cotton mills as 1914. 1t Is the
sworn duty of our Consuls to gather these
statistics of labor and report them to our
government, and these reports show the
average hours per week worked by English
cotton mill operatives to be So. Our own
labor reports show that the average here is
Is hours per week. Wages in our mills
have been reduced fully 20 Per cent. since
1880, as 1 will conclusively show by re-
ports, If any one demands the proof. Thus
the rate of wages to our cotton mill opera
tives is lower, the hours of labor are over
16 per cent. longer, and the cost of living
is, as we shall see, greater here than there;
and we protect our cotton mill operatives
against those English "paupers.' The
several reports made to congress by Secre-
taries Evarts and Blaine are to the same
effect, being compiled from the pay-rolls,
so far as possible, of the different factories.
Space prevents their presentation in detail,
and will close this branch of the investi-
CATION by quoting from the report of Mr..
Secretary Blaine, showing that his reports
run parallel with the rest, though his re-
port is unfair in this, that he does not
com pare general averages, but shows the
comparison with the highest cotton wage
paying state. He says;
at thus appears that each American OPP
erative works up as much material as two
British operatlves,-turns out 81 80 worth
of manufactures to the British operatives
81 wortn,'' etc. etc. And of wages he says:
"The wages of spinners and weavers in
Lancashire and Massach usetts, according
to the foregoing statement, are as follows;
Spinners, English, $7.20 to $40 (master
spinners receiving as high as $40; Ameri-
can, S7O7 to 5000; weavers, English,
So "a to $9G4-subject at the date on which
these figures are given to reduction OF 10
per cent; American, $4s2 to $S,73." "The
averages wages of employees in Massachu-
setts mills are as follows, according to the
official returns: Men, 1886; women, S6 81;
male children, $3.11; female children,
s3Os. According to Consul Shaw the av-
erage wage of men employed in the Ian
casbire mills on the lst of January, 1882,
was about So per week. subject to reduc
t;on of 10 per cent; women from $40 10
"A 30, subject to reduction of 10 per cent.
The hours of labor in the Lancashire mills
are Sc; in Massachusetts,, 60 per week.
The hours of labor in the other New Eng
land states, where the wages are less than
IN Massachusetts. are usually from &c to
60 ner week. Undoubtedly the inequality
IN The wages of English and American OPP
aratives are more than equdttzed by the
Greater efficiency of the latter, and their
longer hours of labor" etc.
And this is the conclusion from Mr. Blaine
in his official report to congress: If such
10 his conclusion when English labor is
com nared with Massachusetts,, what must
SoIAP" --,bon. com parp6 with states